Do the Math
by proflig8
Summary: Six bachelors, two towns, one girl.


**A/N: Well, I'm back. Miss me, Harvest Moon fandom? ****Anyway, I've finally got ToTT and I've fallen a little in love with it.**

** Summary says six bachelors, yeah? Well, it's up to you guys, the readers, to decide who our dear farm girl ends up with. Personally, I don't know/care, I write what you guys want. Enjoy!**

Chapter One:

When morning came, her limbs were stiff and her head stung along her upper left eyebrow, but it was a minimal sacrifice in place of the alternative. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and scrubbed her face with her hands.

The house was a little small. The kitchen was only separated by a long counter, for heaven's sake. Though she couldn't exactly complain; she was always a homey person. With a little bit of time, she could whip this place up into something special.

At least, she hoped so.

It wasn't until she got dressed that there was a knock on the door. Before she opened it, she wondered absently if it was normal here to show up at someone's house at six in the morning.

"Ina," she stated, half-confident that she remembered correctly.

The mayor smiled warmly. "Good morning, Rose. How do you like your new home? Are you settling in well?"

"Yeah, everything's good," Rose replied. "I'm a little anxious to meet the others, though," she admitted.

"Don't worry so much about that. They're all friendly people. We don't get many newcomers, so they'll be more excited than anything. Do you need directions for anywhere?"

"No, I think I'll fumble my way around, thanks." The two women exchanged a polite laugh and, after a few parting words, Ina was gone.

She couldn't help it; her first self-tour of Konohana left her thinking, _Wow, this place is very... eastern. Maybe I should have checked out Bluebell first._

Her weird overalls and cardigan didn't really fit in with the kimonos.

The first place she decided to visit was a pet store with some sort of stable in the backyard. There were horses near the fence and Rose brightened, trailing near to lean against it. "Hi, beauties," she greeted warmly, reaching out to pet above one of their noses.

"Are you that new farm girl?"

She jumped a little guiltily and faced the stranger. Tall, dark, and handsome. Check. Long hair and tattoos, check. Built and fit, check.

"I'm Kana."

_Well, Kana, you've passed the physical examination. _"Kana?" she repeated to make sure she was pronouncing it right. "My name's Rose. Are these your horses?"

Kana smiled a brilliant smile. "Yeah, they are. I've been taking care of them for as long as I can remember. They're, like, my favorite animals."

"They're gorgeous; it's obvious you put a lot of love into their well-being." Sure, she might have been spewing compliments out to get on his good side, but it wasn't like she was lying. They were nice-looking horses. At least, from what a novice like herself could figure out.

If Kana noticed the ass-kissing, he didn't care. "Thanks, that means a lot. Because I do, you know?" After a beat, which they spent looking at the animals, he said, "So, how are you adjusting to rancher life?"

"Honestly, I'm not planning on doing anything too strenuous today. Well, unless you count meeting other people stressful. Which, well." She laughed, cracking her knuckles a tad nervously.

"You seem nice enough, Rose. People are gonna, like, _adore _you. Trust me. Young and cute tends to win over all the shop owners."

Her small bit of anxiety melted away. "Then I bet you're their favorite," she flirted right back.

He grinned and put a hand on her shoulder. "I like you, farm-girl. See you around, kay? I gotta get back to the horses."

"Bye." She beamed and gave him a small wave. The little conversation put her in a good mood. Hopefully all the townsfolk were that friendly. And attractive.

* * *

As it turned out, they were. Hot guys, hot girls – well, save for the few older people, but they made up for it by being extremely kind (Gombe) or extremely entertaining (Raul).

One of the younger males, an apprentice to the town's doctor, had already claimed a pretty high spot on Rose's list of favorites. She had been sitting by the river, taking a small break and singing to herself, when Hiro had exclaimed, "Wow! You like to sing, too?"

Her eyes had widened rather comically, for she had _sworn _nobody else was around. "Yeah?"

"No one else sings. I mean, they _probably _do, but nobody can hear them if they're only singing to their shower head. It's – I really like to just, burst out into song, you know?"

She had blinked at him and then smiled. "Yeah, it is. Sorry to break it to you, but I'm a shower head singer. I've never really thought about singing in front of an audience."

"Stage fright?"

"I wouldn't call it that. Maybe lack of confidence in my voice?"

"Well, if it's any consolation, I liked what I heard. We should sing together sometime!"

"Sure!" she had said with a laugh, mostly humoring the guy.

It didn't faze him. He had bounded off with a, "Gotta get back to the clinic. See you!"

So half her day was spent in Konohana. She considered checking out Bluebell, but she didn't want to get lost in the mountains. She currently stood at the entrance, presumably the start of the path, staring it down as if it'd tell her the way if she waited long enough.

"Lost, Rosie?"

She whipped around and met a broad chest. Upon looking up she was greeted by Kana's smiling face. He looked like he had just gotten off of work. Instead of answering his question, she sputtered, "Don't call me Rosie."

"Why?"

"I just don't like it. Makes me sound like an old lady. Sorry, didn't mean to snap – and no, I'm not lost."

"Then you're just... staring at the mountain?"

Her neck flushed in embarrassment. She probably did look a little ridiculous. "I haven't walked the path from Konohana to Bluebell yet. I want to go check it out, but I don't want to get lost. I've done a good job so far."

"You literally, like, can't get lost if you follow the road. Cross my heart. It's about an hour and a half walk over there, though. Might be dark by the time you make your way back, dude." He folded his arms across his chest and seemed to ponder something. "I could take you on one of the horses, if you wanted. It'd cut down a little bit of time."

"That's sweet, but you're right. It's getting close to dinner time. I should probably plant the few seeds I managed to scrounge up. Tomorrow?"

He rubbed his chin. "Tomorrow's Friday, right?"

"Yep."

"I'm off work. Come by whenever you want and I'll bring you over."

The way he phrased that sounded a little odd to Rose. "You're not gonna stay?"

He laughed, almost _belted _it. "No way. You know about the rivalry. We don't like to step foot in the other town if we can help it. You have an exception because you're new."

She put her hands on her hips. "An exception?" This sounded ridiculous to her; half of her family back home like one sport's team while the other like the rival team – that didn't mean they couldn't be civil. She supposed it was a little different when you _were_ in it rather than _watching_ it, but still. "Right, well, that sounds good to me. I'll be there pretty early. Seven, maybe."

"Sounds good."

After straightening her rucksack, she turned toward her farm and began to bound off in that direction. "See you tomorrow, Kana!"

"Later, Rosie!"

She knew for a fact that he hadn't forgotten her earlier assertions about her name – even _before _he burst out laughing.

* * *

She made sure to come a few minutes before seven, knocking roughly on the door with a small smirk. She could have sworn she heard a groan. "Payback for the name slip, baby!" she called, knocking rhythmically with both of her fists.

He swung the door open. "Dude, chill!" His voice was laced with laughter. "Hold on, I gotta – the dogs aren't used to new people." Kana managed to shut the door on the barking canines without pinching one of their noses.

Rose noticed he was carrying a large saddle. "Which one?" she asked, eyes drifting over to the stallions. One of them gently nudged their nose against her shoulder. She smiled. "Who's this?"

"Hayate," he replied, eyes gleaming warmly. "We're not gonna take her, though. She's getting old. Her legs can't really handle mountain terrain." Instead, he picked one of the largest horses, and fit the saddle onto his back. "This big guy, though – he's _totally _reliable."

The young farmer stared at the height of the horse's back and attempted to deduce how she was going to get up there without looking like a total klutz. In the middle of her mental diagrams, she was lifted up by her waist and turned so she was side saddling. Right.

"Thanks," she said, swinging one of her legs around the other side of the animal.

Kana stepped up in one smooth motion and sat in front of Rose, who promptly rested her arms loosely around his waist. He grabbed the reigns and trotted forward, waiting until they got to the pathway up to the mountains before spurring the horse on, causing Rose to grasp Kana tighter.

She didn't need to see his face to know he was grinning. "All you had to do was ask, cowboy," she teased, squeezing once.

"Totally don't know what you're talking about, Rosie."

The mountain wasn't scary from up here, Rose decided as she rested her cheek against Kana's back, watching the scenery fly by. Trees, rivers, animals – was that a _bear? _Alright, that was a little unnerving.

Sometime later, after a rousing conversation about Kana's horse training techniques, they were at the bottom of the mountain near Bluebell. He stopped near a river so his horse could rest a bit and rehydrate. Rose also took this time to stretch out her limbs, sighing at her already sore muscles from the accident a few days ago.

"For you," said Kana, so Rose turned to face him and was greeted with a blue flower.

She smiled. "Thanks, cowboy." She pinched a bit of the stem off and twisted it through the strands of hair above her ear. "How do I look?"

He just winked at her. "Well, I guess I should get back. You think you can make it back to Konohana alright?"

"Yeah, you were right: it's not a hard path to follow. At least, not in the daylight. But I doubt I'll be here _that _long. Thank you for the ride," she said, sincerity shining in her eyes. Kana had been a great help these past few days.

"Anytime. Seriously." With that, he mounted his steed once more and galloped off with a sense of grace that Rose was certain she'd never achieve.

She stood at the entrance of Bluebell, taking a deep breath.

_Here's hoping none of them shun the new Konohana girl._


End file.
